Sushi

When I was a kid, I wasn't much of a sushi eater. At my grandmother's house I would pick at the maki rolls with vegetables, but I stayed away from the raw kind. It really wasn't till I came to Japan at age 14 with a gymnastics team that I grew to love it. There was something about eating it in Japan with people who were truly enjoying themselves that turned the corner for me.

The front of the sushi house.

So on Monday night, at around 8pm Japan time, John Broman took us to his favorite sushi restaurant in Sendai (it was 6am Monday in Maryland and most of you were either still asleep, or just waking up to eat a breakfast that I'm guessing was fully cooked!) John thinks this place serves some of the best sushi anywhere. The man who owns it used to work as the buyer of fish for other sushi houses before he opened his own place. So he's an expert at picking the freshest fish.

Even Joshua Quinn ate the sashimi.
This was the totally wiped out moment when Emma was dragging and JQ was crawling under the table to rest.

Because of my headaches, I haven't had sushi for many years. I've had to stay away from soy sauce and sushi rice, which has vinegar. But last night I decided that real sushi in Japan at least once on the trip was worth a headache! So I went for it and ate everything. I loaded my little sauce dish with wasabi (the hot green radish paste) and shoy yu and went to work. It was a lot of fun. We all really enjoyed it.

A platter of sashimi that includes raw tuna, shrimp, crab, squid and clam

A platter of of incredible sushi that includes salmon roe, tuna, shrimp and scallops

My favorite was probably the tuna. I also really enjoyed the scallops, shrimp and crab. I don't think I've ever done crab raw. It was very sweet. I didn't really like the squid. A little too chewy for me. Shannon tried the Salmon roe, but her favorite is also the tuna. She also says the green tea was amazing for green tea (she prefers black teas).

Here's a list of "sushi lovers" who I know would have enjoyed this meal with me: Joe and Esther Lee, Jeff Purswell, Hannah Kim, Corby Megorden, Katherine Reynolds, Mike Thompson, Nelson Cooney and Chuck Nam.

Here's a list of "sushi haters" who would rather die than eat any of this stuff: Dave Brewer, CJ Mahaney, Eric Simmons, basically most of the pastoral team, Brandy Hounihan, Nora Earles and Andrew Garfield.

If I inadvertently left you off either list, please post your name and designation as either a "lover" or "hater" in the comments section!